President Obama criticized 2016 Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for invoking the Holocaust while criticizing the Iran deal, saying that Huckabee's words were just a ploy to "get attention," or push candidate Donald Trump out of the headlines.

Over the weekend, the former Arkansas governor called the Iran deal "naive" while on Breitbart News, adding that by signing the deal Obama "will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven." Since the interview, the Huckabee campaign has stood by this phrasing and made it a campaign ad.

"This is the most idiotic thing, this Iran deal. It should be rejected by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress and by the American people," Huckabee added. "I read the whole deal. We gave away the whole store. It's got to be stopped."

Obama, who has tried to avoid campaign politics thus far, condemned the GOP while on a trip to Ethiopia, claiming that Huckabee's statements on Iran and Israel are "not the kind of leadership that's needed for America right now" and this would all be "ridiculous if it weren't so sad."